The S-Force

16: Toni

That girl really ruined my week. And I couldn't tell anyone about it. And to tip it off, I had an extremely important day ahead of me. I had made a little progress with my powers. I could spin myself into a cyclone but I couldn't use it to make a portal yet. Being able to do that would definitely impress the S-Force.

My family still didn't know I had been selected to possibly join the S-Force. And I was going to keep it that way until I made it. Being the middle child is difficult. Having to work harder for my parents to simply acknowledge me and having my failures thrown in my face no matter how small would make anyone fearful. If I didn't make it, I would never hear the end of it.

I had been awakened by gaseous fumes filling up my room. I sprang out of the bunker style room. I was met with an attendant waiting for me with some folded clothes in her arms. She wordlessly handed them to me and walked off. I was the only one out of my room which I found strange but I couldn't dwell on that. I was going to finally meet the S-Force. And I would be possibly judged on something I still wasn't sure about. I couldn't afford to get distracted, no matter what. So I put Winnie and what was happening so far this morning at the back of my mind.

I took the shuttle that took me up to the training room. I saw a lot of unfamiliar faces except for one of the boys Jacqueline usually hung out with. His name was Spencer if my memory wasn't faulty. But there was no sign of the other boy or anyone else I knew.

"Now that we are all complete, if you would all follow me." One of Catherine's assistant trainers announced and opened the doors of the training room for us to rush out of.

We got on the shuttle and it took us to the top of the S-headquarters. We hadn't been up this high before. The nerves and excitement in the shuttle were palpable. My own nerves and excitement were of no help and I felt like I was going to pass out.

We were led into a large round room. The walls and floors were made of thermoptic material.

"Young trainees!" A voice called out from above us. I looked up to see a group of people sitting around the walls. Their shoulders peeked out of the extremely high walls. Catherine was stood beside one of them. I had no time to think about how they suddenly appeared because Catherine was speaking again. "You are about to be presented before the Super-Force. You will showcase your abilities in two separate events. By the end of the event. The S-Force will determine who has both the most potential and whose powers could be possibly useful to the team."

The man seated beside Catherine stood up. I stopped the gasp from leaving my mouth just in time but some of the others were unable to do so. I could hardly blame them. Most people would faint at the sight of The Bulkman. The leader of the S-Force.

"Thank you, Iman." He nodded politely at Catherine then turned to face us. "You were all selected from your various facilities because you all showed potential. Some of you showed great power, some showed great leadership potential and some genuinely care to use their powers for good. I look forward to seeing what you can all do."

Catherine stepped up to stand beside the leader of the S-Force. "The candidate from the South American facility step forward and the rest of you stand back."

One by one, we were called forward to demonstrate our abilities. During my turn, I portaled myself to stand beside The Bulkman and portaled myself back. A few more candidates demonstrated their abilities as well after I had had my turn.

"For the second event, you shall be facing off with someone else." Catherine announced. She called out a few names until she got to mine.

"And for the final face off Antonia Pinnock from the Caribbean/Central America facility against Spence Watson from the Western European facility."

The Bulkman stood up once again. "This face off shall be in two rounds. First round with powers and the second without powers."

A brief murmur broke out for a moment but instantly died down when the first pair was called to face each other.

Each fight seemed like it went on forever. The winner of each fight successfully pinned down their opponent with much difficulty. I did my best to observe and take note of every move the winner made and every mistake every loser made.

"Spence Watson and Toni Pinnock." The Bulkman called us to step forward and face each other. "You may begin when you are ready."

We circled each other cautiously. I knew that Spence had attack powers that he had learnt to use for defense which made him very fast. Attacking first could leave me vulnerable but at the same time, it could help me learn his possible moves and mode of attack for this competition.

I weighed up my options and planned my own mode of attack. I also mentally prepared myself for the unexpected. My powers could disable him easily but I was ready for any tricks he had. I sped up to him and pushed him as far as possible. He scratched my shoulder, surprising me for one second but I quickly gathered myself and sped back to the other side of the room. He fully released his metallic claws and ran up to me. I shifted away from him but he managed to nick my arm, shocking me once again. He took the opportunity to slash my hand. He got me into a headlock and tried to force me to my knees. I slipped out of his grasp using the blood dripping from my shoulder to make myself slippery. I wasted no time in speeding around him and opening a portal we fell into.

I landed beside the Bulkman and quickly pulled myself up to pin Spencer to the ground.

"I've seen enough." The Bulkman declared then signalled something to Catherine.

"Oh what of the second round? They haven't-"

"I said I've seen enough." He interrupted Catherine. "Call in the next batch of junior trainees."